InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Yes. Yes what?"

_ky_ (_ky_) wrote,
@ 2007-10-16 09:32:00

Entry tags:

alisanne, cipher, cipher-wotr, fanfiction, romaine24, scully, snapesgirl_62

Cipher News

I am cutting this entire thing, as I do so have a tendency to carry on. (heh, really, me?)

However, I will try to explain why this means so very much to me. Most of you on my flist already know this, as it has been announced in the Forum of Cipher, and it has been announced on the Fiction side of Cipher, but as of yet, I have not said anything about it in my personal journals. I think it is about time to change that. (Please, if you wish to pass the word on, this post is not locked.)

A week ago today marks the final day of what can only be called a big day in my life, and perhaps in the lives of other fanfickers. I don’t know, maybe I’m giving myself too much credit. You see, Tuesday of last week I became the proud new owner of Cipher.

As I posted on the board, this wasn’t a rapid decision. Morrighan and I discussed the pros and cons of this transition a lot. We discussed what the board needed to prosper, and the directions that it needed to take. We discussed the responsibilities that it would entail and the time it would consume. We discussed how difficult it would be for her to sell to me a site that she has built from the ground up, and is infinitely proud of even if she doesn’t believe that she is able to give as much of herself to it as she once was able to give.

The joke on Cipher is that I am the Forum Post-whore. Why do we joke about this? Well, quite frankly, because it is true. If you look at the stats on the board, you would probably guess that I am one of the earlier members, since I have more posts than even Morrighan.

I am not an original member; I just post that often. Sometimes I am simply sconcing – which, in case any of you have every wondered, is a word that a friend of mine made up to be a synonym for babbling. Babbling, she decided, usually at least has some goal to it – a point at either the beginning of the rambling or the end of the rambling that segue ways into the earlier conversation. Sconcing, on the other hand, is talking without purpose at all – when the sole point of the conversation is simply to use words because you like the way they flow off your tongue or your fingertips.

Often, I am simply sconcing. Sort of like now, so I will get back to my point.

Through the conversations that Morrighan and I were having, we came to the mutual agreement that Cipher would benefit from some one who took interest in both the fiction side of the site as well as the forum side of the site. Morrighan, talented author that she is, is about to finish her first novel, and needs the freedom to devote herself to trying to get it published. Plus, she has often admitted to being scared of reading too much fanfiction in fear of catching a plot bunny and being sidetracked from her chosen path (something that I believe has happened before.) For those of you who have read Bad Faith (currently nominated for "Best Classic Epic" at the Dramione Awards - voting to begin on Oct. 22) you know that she is an incredibly talented fanfic writer. I will just say that having read her original works, the world will benefit greatly from having her published and on the shelves. The talent that she used in her fanfiction shines even brighter in her original works.

I have big shoes to fill. Morrighan has been a wonderful admin and site owner, and she is a devoted friend to so many of us on the site. What she has built has become a home to countless members. I mean, my lords, Cipher is the Official Archive of

alisanne! It is, in my (rather biased) opinion, one of the best places on the net for quality fanfiction in multiple genres and fandoms, and it is now sitting upon my (not so tiny) shoulders.

I will admit to being intimidated and not a little scared.

I will also admit that I am excited.

Part of the reason that I am the Post-whore that I am is that I have met some of my best friends on Cipher. I have solidified friendships that I have made elsewhere in the world of fandom to the point that

romaine24 flew (yes, she flew, as much as she hates it!) across the country so that we could meet in person and give each other a hug and have a cup of coffee. Scully (iamscully on LJ) drove from another state so that we could go see OotP together, and I swear it was only her presence that kept me from bawling like a bitty baby. Through some of my hardest moments with my current back injury,

snapesgirl_62 has been there, sending me emails, and letting me know that I am never alone.

Because Cipher isn’t just about the writing, and the support that we give each other as writers, it is about the friendship, too. That shines through the Forum posts (which to those who simply stop by for a peak probably seem a little neurotic at first. *grin* With a crew like ours, how else would they appear.)

Then, like icing on a really freaking good cake, there is the fiction! While I am currently posting Dark Night Effect on foreverfandom and skyhawke, as well as Cipher, I can’t imagine posting the rest of that series anywhere else. Stories are reviewed by people that not only care about keeping a high quality of writing on the board (making sure that they deliver concrit in the nicest of ways) but also by people that care about each other. Furthermore, as somebody who writes Marauders, Draco/Luna, random Regulus fics, and other oddball stories, having a quality site that I can post on it… well, it is amazing. Quite simply, it is home to any type of writing that an author wishes to put love and effort into. I’ve read X-men, Buffy, CSI, (I still swear that I’m going to do a CSI: Hogwarts – ‘cause Morr got that bunny stuck in my head) as well as the ever prominent Harry Potter. Original Fiction and poetry brighten my day anytime they appear in the “Recent Entries” list (as does the Forum thread “Bitching in Haiku”)

Okay, so this was supposed to be a simple announcement. Heh. Now you know while I call myself the Great Babbler Ky and why I am the Post-whore of the Forum. I seem to have lost myself in expounding upon the merits of Cipher, and seem to have forgotten the main point somewhere along the way. If you find it, let me know.

I will, however, end it with this. For those of us that tend to get lost in the journals and sometimes forget about the Archives, Cipher now has as insanejournal asylum to keep us bloggers updated on what is going on in the wonderful world across the river styx. So, if you are curious,

cipher_wotr is now the official news site for the archive. Please feel free to join. I’d love to see you on the site, and I would love to see you in the asylum.

That statement seems sort of redundant. Welcome to the loony bin, either way. *snicker*